Recently, I spoke with a friend who says he has the greatest job in the world, because essentially, his service sells itself. He works for an organization that helps students of any age get a graduate degree through well-known and highly respected universities in Australia and New Zealand. He travels around to career fairs and other events, promoting this excellent program that allows students to gain a degree abroad in a very appealing place.

I agreed with him about how attractive the service sounded, but I interjected that he was also an excellent salesperson. He modestly insisted that the product really did sell itself — he didn’t think it was his sales skills that got people excited about it. He explained that at least ten times over the past few weeks, just by telling people what he did, he immediately got responses like:

“I need to find out more about this.”
“I’ve told all my colleagues about your service.”
“I’m tired of what I’m doing now. I would love to go to Australia and study.”

At lunch one day, he gave his card to the waitress to enter the free lunch raffle and she came back to his table three times to ask more about how the program worked!

My friend’s experience led me to consider what could make people respond so enthusiastically. I don’t believe that any good product will elicit the kind of reactions my friend gets. It needs to have a strong message and a passionate delivery mechanism — you — to make such a powerful connection with prospects. Here are a few things that could help your service sell itself.

Develop a passionate elevator speech or 30-second commercial. This is absolutely one of the most important tools for communicating about your business. When you’re asked the question, “So, what do you do?” you have to come across with passion and excitement. If you share your enthusiasm and make your service easy to understand, you can create an immediate connection with the people you talk to.

Don’t be afraid to tell anyone at anytime. Some of your best clients can result from chance meetings, brief encounters, and places you thought were “off limits” for marketing. My friend gained some new prospects by speaking with nurses who were giving flu shots in a grocery store!

Stop selling yourself short. You do have a great service to offer. People need what you have. Don’t be timid about telling people how you changed a client’s life, fixed a big problem, or have helped your clients realize their dreams.

Put an enticing message on your business card. If you can nail down a significant benefit your service delivers in one short phrase, then you can get it on your business card. Someone reading your card will understand what you can do and want to know more.

Create excitement around what you offer. If you can get someone excited about your service, they will want it for themselves or to tell others about it. Don’t believe that the service you provide is simply a commodity or boring to talk about. Keep in mind the feeling your customers get when you do a good job for them. Express that emotion in your message to potential clients and everyone you meet.

Can a product or service really sell itself? It can if you’re passionate and dedicated about delivering your message. Now, you might not have the capacity to help people go to Australia, but you can take them to a place they haven’t been — a place where their problems are fixed, where they make more money, or live the life they always wanted.

Your service can sell itself — with a little help from you.